Members of Save Guwahati Build Guwahati at a rally to highlight residents? woes. Picture by UB Photos

March 3: A prominent social organisation of the city today asked chief minister Tarun Gogoi to prove his sincerity on property tax rollback by announcing the suspension of a municipality notification to this effect before March 31.

The Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) further said the notification should be suspended during the budget session of the Assembly till a consensus was hammered out.

President of the NGO, Dhiren Baruah, said Dispur had assured a delegation of the organisation that a ?mutually? beneficial solution to the ongoing stand-off between the tax-payers and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) on increasing the property tax would be found. The 11-member delegation had met Gogoi on February 23.

?We have full faith in the chief minister but since the new rates will be applicable from April 1, we want him to fulfil his promise to us by suspending the GMC notification before March 31,? Baruah said.

The local pressure group also shot off letters to the GMC commissioner, mayor and legislators from Guwahati to ?honour the chief minister?s assurance?.

?Since the Assembly session is going on, we want that Gogoi make an announcement to this effect on the floor of the House,? Baruah said.

He said the GMC authorities had informed him that the notification on the hike of property tax is still in force as the corporation has not received any communiqu? from Dispur to put the decision on hold.

?Even after the assurance of the chief minister, ambiguity is there in the denizens? minds about whether the government will do a rethink on its decision to hike the property tax or not. That is why we want the chief minister to make his stand clear in the Assembly,? Baruah said.

He said the NGO also appreciates the effort by the government to mop up resources for the cash-starved GMC to take up development work in the city, but is opposed to the ?abnormal? hike up to 300 per cent in property tax which has put unbearable pressure on the citizens.

?We want the government to strike an agreement with the tax-payers and till then the old rates should be made applicable. The government can impose the new revised rates with retrospective effect by collecting the arrears later,? Baruah said.

The city has witnessed several protests against the GMC?s move to hike property and other tax rates. The GMC had even convened a meeting of citizens to sort out the matter, but it remained inconclusive.